Every gamer should know the tale of Tucker’s Kobolds. If this legendary D&D story has somehow passed you by, click here to enrich yourself before reading further. (It’s a pretty short story, I promise.)
It’s not hard to see why Tucker’s Kobolds has wormed its way into the D&D consciousness at large: it’s essentially a parable of creatively crafting hard, engaging encounters, using even the lowliest of monsters and tools. It’s drenched with creativity, and it’s entertaining to boot. I think this little story might just be a microcosm of why I love D&D.
In that spirit, I bring you a little hazard to bring Tucker’s Kobolds to your table. In fact, these rules are system ambiguous, so share them far and wide — all RPGs are welcome into the kobolds’ lair.
Tucker’s Kobolds
Adventurers can find immense trouble inside kobold lairs, for their warrens are littered with traps and murder-holes large enough for the nimble kobolds to strike and maneuver, but too small for most adventurers to pursue. In turn, kobolds are famous for their ruthless guerrilla tactics, which are named for the great historian Tucker, who first detailed them.
Each round the party is within the tunnels of a kobold lair, roll a d100 for the hazard they encounter. For many of these obstacles, the kobolds presented can’t be easily slain, and the hazard can merely be avoided. If the adventures try to hack and slash through their kobold foes, as few as 3 kobolds can present a particular hazard, and the kobold lair may be manned by between 24 and 48 kobold fighters at a time. Otherwise, the adventures can simply run though the tunnels, and will escape after encountering 3d6 hazards. In all cases, the kobolds lock the door leading into their warrens, and bar the exit, trapping would-be adventurers inside.
| d100 | Hazard |
| 1-2 | Kobolds throw firebombs and oil from tunnels above. |
| 3-4 | Kobolds in low tunnels, with small openings near your feet, attack your legs with daggers. |
| 5-6 | Kobolds push an avalanche of boulders downhill in your direction. |
| 7-8 | Kobolds in parallel tunnels attack with spears through narrow murder-holes alongside you. |
| 9-10 | Kobolds above drop barbed nets to ensnare and lacerate you. |
| 11-12 | Kobolds have littered the path in front of you with dozens of caltrops. |
| 13-14 | You are harried from behind by kobolds firing poison darts, who retreat upon your approach. |
| 15-16 | Kobolds drop basketfuls of poisonous insects and spiders on to you from above. |
| 17-18 | Kobolds light a fire to discharge smoke into your tunnel, choking and blinding you. |
| 19-20 | Kobolds ahead release pet giant rats to attack you. |
| 21-22 | Kobolds ahead release a pet giant boar to stampede down the hallway toward you. |
| 23-24 | Kobolds pour boiling pitch down a sloped tunnel atop you. |
| 25-26 | Kobolds near your feet attempt to entangle your feet with ropes and chains, knocking you prone. |
| 27-28 | Kobolds throw gas bombs from above, choking you with noxious fumes. |
| 29-30 | Kobolds with hooked poles trip and ensnare the rearmost party member. |
| 31-32 | Kobolds hurl javelins at head-height from the end of this tunnel. |
| 33-34 | Kobolds hurl a beehive onto your party, releasing an angry swarm. |
| 35-36 | Kobolds toss boiling water to extinguish your torches and scorch your skin. |
| 37-38 | Kobolds ahead and behind toss bags of flour, which causes an explosion with your torches. |
| 39-40 | Kobolds ahead retreat with ropes tied to support columns, intending to fell the columns and cause a cave-in. |
| 41-42 | Kobolds roll a makeshift bomb down the tunnel with a lit fuse. |
| 43-44 | Kobolds with longbows fire from behind a line of shielded allies. |
| 45-46 | Kobolds behind and in front attack with spears, retreating and advancing as you move. |
| 47-48 | A monstrous kobold champion, a fully-armored half-dragon, blocks the tunnel ahead alone. |
| 49-50 | Nimble kobold rogues drop from the ceiling and attack with poison daggers. |
| 51-52 | A tripwire up ahead triggers a hail of dart traps. |
| 53-54 | A pit trap up ahead drops only waist-deep, and kobolds with daggers below wait to carve up your lower half. |
| 55-56 | The floor of the hallway ahead is covered with spikes and broken glass. |
| 57-58 | The hallway is muddy and contains hidden bear-traps. |
| 59-60 | The hallway up ahead is riddled with lines of razor wire to shred your skin as you run past. |
| 61-62 | The hallway ahead tightens, slowing your movement, while kobolds archers pepper you with arrows. |
| 63-64 | A trip wire ahead triggers a massive swinging log trap. |
| 65-66 | A pit trap up ahead is filled with dozens of poisonous snakes. |
| 67-68 | The hallway ahead is littered with crude landmines, buried under gravel and poised to explode. |
| 69-70 | A pit trap up ahead is filled with poisonous spikes. |
| 71-72 | Half of the hallway ahead is blocked by an imposing metal wall, which you must squeeze past. A fire has been built and the wall is scalding hot. |
| 73-74 | The hallway up ahead opens to a tavern with a rickety bridge crossing it. The bridge has been built to flip upside-down on any Medium creature crossing it. |
| 75-76 | The floor and walls ahead is coated with sticky, flammable tar, and a kobold waits to light it aflame. |
| 77-78 | A pit trap up ahead is filled with water and kobolds ready to throw weighted nets over their victim. |
| 79-80 | A heavy ballista fires an armor-penetrating bolt down this hallway at regular intervals. |
| 81-82 | The only way ahead is up a steep gravel slope. A rope is tied to allow easy climbing, but kobolds wait in hiding above to cut it. |
| 83-84 | Sections of the floor ahead are built with wood of varying thicknesses, allowing you to step directly through, catching your leg. |
| 85-86 | The hallway ahead is full of sturdy, horizontal metal poles, which slows your movement, while kobolds with crossbows make targets of you. |
| 87-88 | There are several pit traps up ahead that you need to jump over. The ground between them is smooth, sloped stone. |
| 89-90 | The only way forward is down a dangerously steep slope, which has been covered in grease. |
| 91-92 | A pressure plate in the tunnel triggers a cloud of poison gas. |
| 93-94 | The hallway up ahead is half as high as the rest of the tunnel, forcing you to crawl as kobolds throw darts at you. |
| 95-96 | The hallway is flooded to your knees, and snakes swim in the water. |
| 97-98 | Pressure plates ahead trigger spear traps hidden in the walls. |
| 99-00 | Several crude explosives are rigged to the walls. The entire tunnel is rigged to explode. |
